Crush
by lilith210
Summary: Hermione has a crush on Charlie Weasley.  Beta'd by Emily
1. First Meeting: The Quidditch World Cup

The first time Hermione met Charlie Weasley was a few days before the Quidditch World Cup. Hermione arrived early in the morning at the Burrow and Ginny enthusiastically introduced her to her two oldest brothers. She met Bill first; he was a tall man with slightly reddened skin and long red hair that was tied back in a ponytail.

She couldn't help but notice that Bill was quite handsome, but it was Charlie Weasley that caused her heart to beat a little faster and her breath to hitch in her throat. Charlie was about her height with broad arms and shoulders. His hands were rough and scarred; when she shook his hand she let her thumb discreetly slide over a thick scar on the back of his hand.

Hermione spent most of the day asking Charlie questions about how he got his job and asking him to regale her with tales of what happened deep in Romania working with dragons. The rest of the Weasleys wrote off the extra attention Hermione was giving Charlie as Hermione just being herself and trying to learn something new. In actuality, Hermione just wanted to be alone with Charlie, and was studying his movements very closely. She noticed that whenever he was really into a story he would push himself to the edge of whatever he was sitting on and use his hands to accent whatever point he was making.

The night of Hermione's arrival she found she was having trouble sleeping. After attempting to go to sleep for a few hours, she wandered down to the kitchen for a glass of water. She made it to the sink before stopping, her heart beating rapidly. Charlie Weasley was sitting on the couch in the kitchen, she only saw the back of his head, but she could tell it was him by the relaxed way he was sitting. She saw his left arm lying on the back of the couch and he was leaning slightly to the right on the arm of the couch.

She knew even before she came around to look at him that he was sitting with his right leg bent so that his ankle was resting on his left leg. Charlie had been sitting like that all day when he wasn't telling Hermione some story about him and his coworkers at the dragon habitat. "Hermione? What are you doing up?" He looked up, slightly surprised to see anyone else awake at that time in the night.

"I could ask you the same thing," Hermione said playfully as she took a seat across from him.

"You've never shared a room with Bill. I've slept with dragons roaring right outside my window, but when Bill snores it's like someone grinding rocks into your ear. Fred and George couldn't sleep either and began to work on some of their joke products. I left before I could be considered an accomplice," he shrugged. "So, what's your excuse for being up so late? It can't be Bill's snoring. I know he's loud, but I'm relatively sure that you can't hear him in Ginny's room."

Hermione gave a little giggle, "No, it wasn't Bill, I just couldn't sleep." Charlie nodded his head and they sat together in silence. Hermione shifted a little in her seat; she had spent the entire day grilling Charlie about work, but there was one question she avoided. She didn't know why she didn't just ask him, it wasn't too personal, and not remotely insulting. When she really thought about it, she assumed that she didn't want him to think her too immature to understand, but the silence seemed to crush her until she let the words slip from her mouth, "Why dragons? Why not work with some safer creature?"

Charlie placed both feet onto the floor and leaned forward. His forearms rested on his legs and he clasped his hands together. He dropped his head down with a deep sigh; Hermione was sure he was about to tell her that she was far too young to understand. The words never came; instead he let his legs bounce a few times as he thought. "Dragons fascinate me." He lifted his head and looked directly into Hermione's eyes. "I respect them enough to know they are dangerous, so I know how to work with them. I know when to stay away, when it's safe to approach, and when to give them a minute to adjust." He shook his head and sighed, "You probably don't understand; hardly anybody does."

Hermione thought for a second, she couldn't exactly explain how, but she understood what Charlie meant. She knew how to act around Harry, who could be as dangerous as any dragon that ever lived. "No, I understand." Her eyes locked onto his.

Charlie smiled, smacked his legs and stood up. "Well, it's time the two of us tried to get some sleep." He lifted himself off the couch and held his hand out to Hermione. She smiled sheepishly and a slight flush crept into her cheeks as she gripped his hand.

Charlie escorted Hermione to the room she was sharing with Ginny. Hermione walked as close as she dared, taking in the scent of smoke that was coming from Charlie. They stopped in front of the door to Ginny's room, "Sleep well, M'lady," Charlie smiled as he brought the back of Hermione's hand close and brushed his lips against it. He laughed softly and told Hermione he would see her in the morning, to which Hermione gave a small wave.

Hermione crawled into her bed and breathed deeply. Her hand was tingling where Charlie's lips and touched it and her heart was fluttering in her chest. She fell asleep replaying the scene in her mind, with a slight bit of embellishment, and hoping that morning would come quickly.

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A/N: A gift to you all, the beta'd version of part one. Part two is up, so please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own, I don't make money, I just appreciate for free.


	2. Second Meeting: The Wedding

The second time Hermione saw Charlie Weasley was before Bill and Fleur's wedding. His hair had grown a bit shaggy and he was sporting a large scratch on his right bicep. "It's nothing, Hermione," he laughed jovially when she questioned him about it. "There's this new baby Opaleye that was brought to the reserve from New Zealand. He's a bit feisty and accidentally scratched me a couple of weeks ago. It hurt a bit at first, but the stinging stopped pretty quickly," he smiled widely. "I have a high tolerance for pain, so it's really no big deal," he winked at her and strolled over to talk to Bill.

Hermione still found Charlie thoroughly attractive, but was wary of pushing her feelings. Ron had just really starting to give her real romantic attention and she really did like Ron and didn't want to jeopardize her relationship with him. And, although she didn't want to admit it, she was also afraid that if she told Charlie how she felt, he would laugh it off as some schoolgirl crush.

She tried not to stare at him during the wedding, but he kept drawing her eye. She would watch him as he rocked on the balls of his feet or as he ran his hand over his too short hair. Charlie's eyes danced with pride as he watched his brother and smiled so brightly that the sun seemed to dim. _Oh, that smile,_ Hermione thought as her yes quickly locked onto his.

During the reception Ron asked her to dance, mainly because Viktor was getting too close for Ron's comfort. She enjoyed dancing with Ron although he was a bit clumsy and kept stumbling over her feet, but he really tried. They danced through one entire song but halfway through the second dance Charlie stepped in and Ron, reluctantly, went to dance with Gabrielle.

Hermione found that Charlie was a much better dancer than Ron; he held her close with one arm while holding her right hand in his. They danced in silence; Hermione quietly humming to the music. Charlie pulled Hermione closer and whispered in her ear, "Be good to him." Her breath stopped short and her heart was pounding her ears.

"What?" she asked, trying to clear her mind.

"Ron _really_ adores you," Charlie said smiling like a Cheshire cat, "and to be honest I can't blame him." Hermione blushed and Charlie's smile widened. "I know he can be a bit of a prat, but he's really caring and a great friend if you can get past his occasional stubbornness."

"I know," Hermione stated. "I've been his friend for about six years, trust me I know haw much of a prat he can be. I also know that he's fiercely loyal and will do anything for his friends."

Charlie laughed lightly, "Yeah, that's my brother." They lapsed into silence and Charlie twirled her away from him before bringing her close again.

Suddenly Hermione noticed a small tear forming in the corner of Charlie's eye, she quickly wiped it away. "I just want to know that he'll be loved. If anything should happen to me or my family," tears were freely spilling down his cheeks, "I just want to be sure he's loved."

Hermione pulled Charlie tight, "Oh, you're being silly. Harry and I will never, ever let him go unloved. I promise." In her mind she added the words _for you._

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_A/N: 'ello 'ello loves. Okay, personally I'm not the biggest fan of this chapter, but shrugs I wanted to get at least two canon moments in. Anyways, I have the next part done, but I still haven't typed it yet and RL is crazy. I just moved into the dorm and classes start on tuesday. Honestly the next part is awesome so please keep checking back. Also everytime you don't review a frat boy spills his beer. Please save the frat boys' beers._

_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters (even though they tell me they like me better than JKR :D)_


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